


Under My Skin

by letek



Category: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Genre: Competent Quark, Entirely Self-Indulgent, M/M, Solid!Odo, it's nothing really descriptive or gory though, there are references to blood since odo gets cut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-01
Updated: 2020-10-01
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:55:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,196
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26659318
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/letek/pseuds/letek
Summary: Odo cuts himself on some broken glass and Quark comes to the rescue.
Relationships: Odo & Quark (Star Trek), Odo/Quark (Star Trek)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 51





	Under My Skin

Odo had finished up his work for the night and decided to go check on Quark. Usually by this time, the rest of the staff would be gone and Quark would be finishing any last rounds of cleaning before closing up the bar. Odo walked in and suddenly felt someone crash against his body. He watched as Quark toppled onto the ground along with a tray of empty glasses that he was holding in his hands. 

Odo kneeled down to help him up but Quark smacked his hand away. 

“I’m fine. Watch where you’re going next time.” 

“I- I’m sorry,” Odo reached to clean up the mess he caused. He began to gather up the shards of glass that were strewn about the floor, “I’ll help clean-” 

“No, Odo! Don’t-!” 

Odo made a pained noise as he felt a sharp sting across his hand where he had grabbed the broken glass a little too tightly. Deep red blood pooled in his palm and trickled down his wrist and arm. 

Quark sighed, “Did you forget you were a solid? Glass and skin don’t mix well.” 

“I didn’t think this skin would be so fragile.” 

Quark reached for the small towel that was hanging from his waistband and moved closer to Odo as he wrapped the piece of cloth around the bloody hand. 

“Keep pressure on it,” he stood up and led Odo to sit on one of the barstools. 

“Should I go to the infirmary?” 

Quark gently took Odo’s hand and opened the towel to examine the wound, “Nah, it doesn’t look too bad. We should be able to take care of it here.” 

Quark re-wrapped the cut but kept his hand on top of Odo’s, “Let me go get the first-aid kit.” 

Odo watched Quark walk into the storage room, faintly curious about the strange sensation that he felt in his stomach. He didn’t know what this new feeling was, but whenever Quark touched him, his stomach tingled. There were so many new sensations he had been experiencing since he became a solid; he still hadn’t been able to figure them all out. 

Quark came out of the storage room and went behind the bar, “Come here.” 

Odo got out of the stool and went to go stand by Quark, who was next to a sink that he had just turned on. 

Quark’s voice was soft, “Take the towel off.” Odo thought his words sounded almost gentle, like the way a parent would speak to a child. 

Odo watched as Quark adjusted the knobs on the faucet, letting the water run through his fingers as he searched for the correct temperature. 

“Is it still bleeding?” 

“Yes, a little.” 

Satisfied with the temperature, Quark let the water run as he leaned over to look at Odo’s hand. He took Odo by the wrist and placed it under the running water, “Let’s wash the blood off. Then we can see if there’s any glass stuck under the skin.” 

Odo grimaced, “Don’t you think this would be easier if we just go to the infirmary like I suggested?” 

Quark lightly rubbed his fingers over Odo’s hand and helped the water wash away the dried blood, “If there’s glass stuck in there, we’ll have to. I have a small dermal regenerator in the kit that’ll work if it’s just a cut.” 

Odo watched the light red colors swirl around the bottom of the steel sink and fall into the drain. He tried to focus on anything other than the way Quark caressed his hand, anything other than the way Quark’s fingers sent little shocks throughout his body. 

Quark turned the water off and grabbed a clean towel that was next to him. He dried Odo’s hand and wrapped it again. Odo followed as Quark led them back around the bar to sit at the countertop. Sitting directly across from Odo, Quark moved his stool closer until their knees were practically touching. Odo noticed that the bleeding had mostly stopped as Quark unwrapped the towel from his hand. 

Quark placed his own hand under the back of Odo’s- once again, employing that soft caress that nearly brought Odo to his knees. 

“Stretch your palm out for me?” And, as if right on cue, there was that gentle voice- again. Odo didn’t know how to react to it. It was unlike anything he had ever heard Quark utter and every time he heard it, he started to get those tingles that were causing him so much confusion. 

Odo complied with the request as he watched Quark examine his hand for any glass fragments. 

After about a minute of Quark’s examination, Odo spoke up, “See anything?” 

“No, but vision isn’t a Ferengi’s greatest strength,” he smiled. “Do you feel anything?” 

Odo furrowed his brow, “It... hurts.” 

Quark chuckled, “I mean, does it feel like there’s anything under your skin?” 

“I don’t think so.” 

“Try moving your hand and see if anything feels weird.” 

And so Odo moved his fingers, focusing on the sensations, “I don’t feel anything strange.” 

“Good,” Quark reached into the first-aid kit and picked up a small instrument. 

“What’s that?” 

Quark grabbed Odo’s hand and hovered the device over the wound, “It’s a sterilizer.” 

Odo moved his eyes from the hand to Quark’s face. He looked at how intently Quark was working- healing him. Those stomach tingles became even stronger and he felt a warm sensation begin to grow in his body. It was as if all the blood that was coursing through his veins had become hotter by a few degrees. 

Quark grabbed a different device from the kit, which Odo knew was a dermal regenerator. 

“Quark.” 

Quark looked up from the hand that he was holding and met Odo’s eyes, “Yeah?” 

“Thank you... for helping me.” 

“Well I can’t have you filing a lawsuit against me for getting hurt in my bar, now can I?” 

Odo noticed a faint glimmer in Quark’s eyes. 

“I wouldn’t sue you.” 

“A Ferengi can never be too sure,” Quark grinned as he passed the dermal regenerator over Odo’s skin. 

After a few more seconds, Quark put the device back into the kit, “Good as new.” 

Odo surveyed his perfectly healed skin and noticed that Quark was still holding onto his hand. His breath caught in his throat as he looked up to find that Quark had been smiling at him, gazing at him in the same way that Odo knew he had been looking at Quark only a few minutes before. 

Odo knew he needed to say something, anything to break this knowing silence between them, “Well, thank-” 

“You want a drink?” 

“Don’t you still have cleaning to do? I made more of a mess for you with the broken glass.” 

Quark shook his head, “I can worry about that later.” He got up from the stool and went behind the bar, “So, what’ll you have?” 

Odo hesitated, “It’s late, I should-” 

Quark stared at him with pleading eyes, “Stay, Odo... Just one.” 

Odo nodded, “Okay.” 

Quark poured a lilac-colored liquid into two glasses and handed one to Odo. 

They looked into each other’s eyes as they raised their glasses and smiled. 

**Author's Note:**

> This was completely self-indulgent; I like seeing Quark in charge sometimes. Anyway, I wrote this a few months ago and figured I'd better post it. Hope y'all liked it :))


End file.
